


Starlight

by TheWillowBends



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Lucifer (TV) Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:49:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWillowBends/pseuds/TheWillowBends
Summary: We are all reaching for the stars.
Relationships: Lucifer Morningstar & Delilah (Lucifer TV)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 59





	Starlight

Delilah is a young thing when he meets her, all curly haired and bright eyed, one amongst a thousand wannabe starlets, singers, models that take themselves broke in the city of angels.She wears her liner too heavy, consistently wears crop tops with mini skirts, speaks with a little too much twang to forget her Kansas roots.It is pathetic and charming all at once, and he almost laughs her out of his club when she auditions, but there is something about her that stills his acid tongue, something impressive in the defiant way she wobbles on stage in outdated heels and looks him straight in the eye when he calls her look cheap.Later, he will tell Maze it’s because she didn’t force him to sit through another shitty rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing.”

For all the pretense and unpracticed beauty, she has a song bird’s voice.A sound not entirely refined but reminiscent of light and air, elements of something raw and pure, waiting to be cultivated.Maybe it is that, if he is honest with himself.Potential just waiting to be tapped.

He informs Maze to see the rest out and tells her she is to start Thursday, six sharp, then sends her off with his corporate card and a few favors called in to Saks and the local beautician to get her a decent wardrobe and stylist.She does as she is told and cleans up well enough, though it takes a few weeks of practice with Maze to elevate her smokey eye from disastrous to delightful.The accent takes a little longer, but they figure that out too.

He smooths out her edges, teaches her how to hone her instrument: the right places to nail tone and pitch, how to hold vibrato deep in her gut so the sound seems effortless, natural.Something that feels like pride blossoms in him the longer he accompanies her at piano, watches her grow into the star she was born to be, not so different from those he set aflame in the sky in eons gone by.

He never fucks her.He is never sure why, though Maze makes at impressive go at her once or twice.The few times he convinces her to follow him to the penthouse, they wind up sitting around and drinking his best whiskey, listening to her wonder and envy at his art collection.Sometimes, they talk about her future, the places awaiting her in the time to come.Never the past, and he understands that well enough.

From the moment he meets Delilah, he immediately pegs her as one for a favor, though to his surprise and curious pleasure, it takes years for her to fold and approach him for one.Her smile is rueful when she does, like maybe she has betrayed something between them, this circumspect sort of friendship that grown up between the cracks in the walls they have around them - or maybe she just feels guilty about asking, about wanting more, and if there was anything that may have stayed his hand, it ends there.Lucifer Morningstar will never be one to stand in the way of desire, of wanting more. 

He introduces her to Jimmy Barnes, whose presence is always something bland and scummy, like film on the teeth.Lucifer isn’t fond of the way he looks at her,but Jimmy knows music business well, and the favor he owes is hefty enough to win Delilah a shockingly fair first contract.Later, after Jimmy has cleared the air of his presence, Delilah surprises him by pressing herself into his arms and whispering thanks.He does his best not to notice how much her tears wrinkle the Armani, while Maze smirks in amusement over the bar, though that could as likely be because she has Johnny going down on her behind the counter.

The last night they perform together, he plays one of her favorites, mostly because one can’t go wrong with Nina Simone, particularly when she is feeling good.Delilah belts it out joyfully, exuberant, as bright as any star in the firmament.The crowd is wild, ferocious in their energy and pleasure, and three different women drag him into the coatroom before the night is done.

After, he stands outside with Delilah, breathing in hot smoke and the thick city air.The night feels like another companion, a reminder of the dozens of times they stood out here after the piano was put away but before he had selected his evening company, laughing as he listened to her bemoan her bad luck with agents and false starts.It is a wonder, he thinks, that it took her so long to ask him, but he is glad for it, as finite as their time always was.

He walks her to the garage, complimenting her new dress, grinning at the way the red soles of her patent leather heels stand out even in the dim light.Maze had called her his protégé once or twice, and he supposes that is well enough true.She is reaching for the stars he made, after all.

They reach the exit and linger.He takes a long drag of his cigarette.When she looks at him, her smile is brilliant.He thinks he has never seen her more beautiful than in this moment, so close to getting what she has always desired.Impulsively, he presses the keys to the Ferrari in her hand, tells her to consider it a parting gift.

“Lucifer,” she protests, “I couldn’t possibly - “

“You can and you will, darling.I insist.”He adjusts her jacket, closing the buttons one by one with a grin.

She tilts her head to the side, considering him.“Thank you.For everything.I don’t know I’ll ever repay you.Not just the favor, but everything - “

“Now, now,” he chides, “don’t be maudlin.You know I prefer the corvette.”

Finishing up the last button, he smooths out the lapel, letting his hands linger a moment.Her eyes are already wet with tears, so he is prepared for the embrace that follows.He is better at them now, doesn’t flinch at all when her grip tightens, and even closes his arms around her, running a soothing hand up her back.There has always been something fragile about her, he thinks, that improves his leniency towards these intrusions of hers.She never feels more human to him than in these moments.

“You’ll be fine, I promise you.Jimmy may be a petulant worm, but he knows better than to cross the devil.”

“I know,” she mumbles against his collar (a Burberry this time).When she pulls back, she manages a smile, if a wobbly one.“I’m not sad.This is just...hard.”

“Of course it is,” he says cheerily, “nobody in L.A. throws a better party than I do.Whatever will you do without me around to entertain?”

When she laughs, he takes the opportunity to disengage, then walks her to the car.He holds the door open for her, ever the gentlemen.Delilah’s smile is luminous in the dark, a star of her own making.

“Don’t be a stranger,” he says, in lieu of _goodbye_ , and she promises _of course not_ , before closing the door and starting up the car.

He watches her reverse and pull out, returning her wave as she reaches the exit, the twin shine of her brake lights winking out as she turns out of the garage, swallowed up by the night.Something in his belly twists, a feeling he cannot identify, heavy but abstract, the weight of a stone in hand before it is thrown.He lights up another cigarette, meandering for a long moment as he contemplates it, before shaking his head clear of thought and making his way back to the club with all of its happy distractions, wine and women and song.

He doesn’t look back.He hopes neither does she.


End file.
